Torsion bars out of whack, broken bolt, what to do?

Ok... On my new to me 3023, the shells were difficult to open. I've read through all of the guides, and we adjusted the rear shells, so that now I can open them myself. I have to use a little muscle, but at least it is a one person job.

On the front. Wow, we're all out of whack. The door side seems as if it has no spring at all. When you close, it lands with a thwump so hard it actually latches itself!.. However, on the torsion bars (adjusting on the opposite side, of course), the center bolt is tightened as far as it can be tightened, and the front bolt has been adjusted pretty far, as far as we can tell, and the bolt head has been sheared off.

We're working to remove the sheared off bolt, but having problems. If and when we get the bolt out, what happens now? With the center bolt tightened all the way, there is no more umph to give to that side, where it desparately needs it.

Could I possibly have a bent torsion bar in the center? Is there anything else that could be wrong? I'm in Oklahoma, I have no clue where my closest service center is.

Any advice is welcome.

I hope you are making the adjustments with the roof UP. If not you are probably going to get damage and possibly hurt. With the roof up you should be able to use a vice grip on the broken bolt which should not have any tension on it, only rust fighting you which WD40 and maybe some heat will help with.

Check the bolts that hold the torsion bars and their brackets and make sure all are tight. One being loose will give the results you mention.

LEVEL in all directions, the more level the happier you will be.

After replacing the bolt you need to do a full adjustment of all 4 points. Make all bolts equal in how many turns they are in, even if it takes 4 people to open it up. The process, with it open adjust each bolt on the torsion bars to the same depth, close and open them again, pay attention as to whether the 2 sides are keeping track of each other and not twisting. Continue to adjust with minor adjustments (1/4 turn max) with slight adjustments to balance the 2 sides. Do not tighten much past the point where the shell comes up with one person and do not let it slam open as this messes with another adjustment. Now look at the 2 swing out brackets that hook to the 2 pins by the bed. If they are aligned great. If not lower the unit and look inside the 4 lifting arms at the top and you will see a bolt head. These adjust how far the top opens, very minor adjustments make a big change, turn them all the same until those brackets align with the pins. I use a 90 degree carpenters angle to check the other brackets as I want all to be 90 degrees. Now if all is well great. If the door is hard to open, the pillows seem not even across the top then measure the distance from the part where the torsion bar bends under the camper and to the top of the arm, They should be equal on each side, if not you will need to adjust that, but before I run out of space do all the above and see how things are. There is a link on each of these adjustments as well.

To answer our question--torsion bars seldom bend, they break in most cases.
Good luck

[rvcycleguy]

Agree with the last post. Do not attempt to remove bolts from the torsion bar unless the roof is open or up. When the roofs are up, the tension is released.

No worries, I read through all of the threads first.

I am definitely doing the adjustments with the shells up. We (I say we, but I really mean my dad, who is very mechanically inclined) got the bolt out and replaced. However, we're still dealing with the fact that that one side isn't assisting at all, and it is tightened all the way. I will check and make sure none of the brackets are loose.

The side latches (whatever you call those bars) are fine, they line up very will with the pins, no problems there. Door opens and closes fine. No problems locking door pins in place, etc. Rear shell is fine now too, just the front one... We'll keep working on it.

[Bill]

Since the torsion bars are open to see, and not hidden, I'm assuming that you have confirmed that all four of bars for the front shell are unbroken.

Bill

Correct, nothing broken, just a bit rusty. With the broken bolt replaced, we were able to at least do some adjustment on one end, and it has definitely helped, but still a two person job to raise and lower.

Nearest service center that I can see is in ft. worth. Maybe a spring trip there will nee in the works. In the meantime, we just open it together.

Just a thought but why not go to the factory and get their "Tune Up Special" Contact them in TN and see what the latest price is going to be. I hear they do a terrific job of going over your camper, make all sorts of adjustments and lubrication, etc. in one day. There is some beautiful country to be seen in their immediate area, you get to tour the factory and meet the famous Eddie if available and all sorts of things. Their prices are as good as any dealer and the folks that do the work do this all the time!

Dave